Estate director Mark Trumper said the trust had avoided increasing parking fees for "as long as is practicable."

He added: "We do not want to use funds that should be otherwise spent on providing healthcare for patients, so car parking has to be self-funding, and any surplus made is reinvested back into patient care."

Parking concessions available to some patients who attend on a regular basis and families of very ill patients in critical, intensive or the paediatric intensive care units will continue.

However the hospitals trust has said it will apply a "below inflation" increase.